Improved photos in three steps

In photography there are many things to consider in improving your photos: timing, equipment, lighting and composition among myriad others. There are three basic things that every picture taker needs to know to come away with better photographs. Notice I said "picture taker" and not photographer. While every photographer has ...

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By Clifford Oto

recordnet.com

By Clifford Oto

Posted Oct. 15, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By Clifford Oto

Posted Oct. 15, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

In photography there are many things to consider in improving your photos: timing, equipment, lighting and composition among myriad others. There are three basic things that every picture taker needs to know to come away with better photographs. Notice I said "picture taker" and not photographer. While every photographer has a camera not everyone with a camera may consider themselves a photographer or aspire to be but would like to improve their pictures all the same. These three simple tips can enhance anyone's photos regardless of skill level.

No. 1: Get in close. My photo instructors always have said, "When you think you're close enough, take another step closer." Most people's first inclination when taking a picture is to take a step back. Perhaps it's that they don't want to invade the subject's personal space, but being too far away is the No. 1 problem for most people. Try and fill the frame with your subject. Unless there is something in the background that directly relates to your subject, it's just wasted space and should be cropped out by getting in tighter.

There are a couple of ways of getting around the dilemma. One costs money (there's almost no problem in photography that lots of cash can't solve), and the other doesn't.

The first one is to buy a telephoto lens. A telephoto will help to pull in something far away and make it appear closer. The longer the lens the farther away you can shoot. The hitch is that they cost money: the bigger the lens, the more expensive it can get. Think of spending at least $800 to start.

The second and less expensive option is just to move closer to your subject. There are some instances where you can't move in and a telephoto is the only answer (such as sporting events), but the majority of times all you have to do is move your feet. When photographing people the rule of thumb is if they (and probably you) aren't just a little bit uncomfortable with your proximity, then you're not close enough. This also forces you to become more acquainted with your subject. If you can forge a bond, no matter how brief, it will almost always show up in your pictures.

No. 2: Watch your backgrounds. Telephone poles, tree branches and flagpoles are all notorious items that have been know to mysteriously sprout from people's heads in many a photo. Cluttered and busy backgrounds can distract from the subject or worse, make them look ridiculous. Many times this can be easily fixed by just moving a few feet (sometimes a few inches) from one side to the other or up or down.

Bad backgrounds can often occur because the person with the camera is concentrating so hard on his or her subject that distractions in the background are ignored. The photographer may be in a hurry or he may just be not thinking. A trick of the trade is to look at all four corners of the frame. This forces you to slow down and check out what's in the entire photo. If there's something unsightly in the background you can move it, move yourself or have your subject move to a neutral setting. It's as easy as that.

No. 3: Think. Of the three this is the most important. If you don't practice this one it's likely you won't do the others because it all hinges on thinking first.

My former photography instructor Dick Fleming at Sacramento City College once said he could take two photo students of equal talent and virtually guarantee that one would take a better photo than the other. He said he'd give the first student unlimited resources: the access to any cameras and lenses and an unlimited amount of film. The second student would get a single camera and lens and only one or two frames of film to shoot with.

His theory went: given the unlimited resources he or she had access to, the first student would probably shoot willy-nilly hoping to get a good shot through the sheer number of photos he took. From lighting and composition to lens choice and camera angle, the second student would think about his shot very carefully and would likely get the better photo through careful planning and consideration.

Modern cameras tend to make things too easy for the photographer. All too often he'll walk up to a scene, mindlessly take a quick shot or two and move on. When he gets home and actually looks at the photos, that's when he will notice that he was too far away or there's a traffic signal growing out of the top of Aunt Martha's head (or worse both). Slow down, think about what you're doing, what you want and don't want in the photo. Think, move in close, think, check the background, think again, and then push the button.